Showing results by narrator "Marni Penning" in All Categories

Ninety-eight percent of fire magi who attempt the agonizing forbidden ritual known as The Burning don’t survive. Those who do...level up in ways undreamt of by the Unburned. I survived. Now I've got other problems. Headmaster Chaplin charges me with tutoring struggling student April, but when a bully targets April, I feel my control slipping. It doesn't help that he is my crush's evil twin, who - for reasons no one can explain - I share a powerful mage-bond with. It might be enough to push me into darkness. Will I emerge a hero or a fiend? Even I cannot say.

In the back room at an elite gallery party, 40-something soccer mom Johanna Porter stands face to face with her younger self. The girl in the portrait, La Rosa Blanca, is fierce and fearless, and Johanna sees the great painter she almost was before her lover, the powerful artist Nestor Pinedo, torched her career. When she cuts the million-dollar masterpiece out of its frame, rolls it up and walks out, it’s not a theft. It’s a rescue.

In the 10th year of the Change, the survivors in Western Oregon live in a world without technology. Michael Havel’s Bearkillers hold the lands west of Salem in peace and order. To the east, the Clan Mackenzie flourishes under the leadership of Juniper Mackenzie, bard and high priestess. Together, they have held Norman Arminger - the warlord of Portland - at bay.

In love with one twin, bonded by fire to the other. Welcome back to Arcturus Academy. I survived my first semester, but it's not getting easier. I adore Gage, so why do I share a mage-bond with Ryan, a bully who keeps trying to blackmail me and might get both of us killed? He's like a hydra. Whenever I diffuse one plot, another springs up in its place. How long can this go on before he gets what he wants?

After witnessing senseless murder, Bel vows to end her mother’s tyrannical reign. But as a young mermaid, she has no choice but to spend time on dry land before she can qualify for the crown. As she strives to capture a man's heart, the underwater realm flows with the blood of the queen's enemies.

Amanda Brooks has made a new home for herself in Birch Creek, and she's finally learning to love the right way. But our past always catches up to us, and when her family surprises her with a visit, it slams into her plans like a bowling ball, knocking pins in every direction. Donna Ellingson has a new job and a fresh resolve to embrace happiness with both hands. But every big change has its difficulties, and she’s not sure whether she made the right choice. It’s hard to move ahead when you keep looking back.

Determined to end the dreaded mermaid mating cycle between land and sea, Targa and Mira scour rare fragments of mosaic art from deep in the ocean for clues. On the hunt for the ancient spell’s source, all signs point to the ruins of Atlantis. Before the legend’s final chapter can unfold, Targa learns that only she has the strength to break the curse...the cost of which may be her life. Can Targa find the courage to face her destiny and liberate an ocean of chained hearts?

When it comes to creating the perfect happily-ever-after, Yardley Belanger is a bona fide miracle worker. From bridal bouquets to matching cowboy boots, the quirky wedding planner’s country-chic affairs have caused quite a stir in the small town of Cemetery. But when it comes to her own love life? She’s clueless.

Make a deal with the fae at your own risk... Tricked into a slippery alliance, Georjie has no choice but to trust the only being with enough power to stop the black witch. All she has to do is lure Daracha to the right place at the right time using herself as bait, and the formidable queen will do the rest. Georjie gets a surprise visit she hopes will help her uncover why her father left all those years ago, but uprooting the truth is easier said than done.

Blackmouth, Scotland. After managing to bury a vicious witch with her elemental magic, Georjie is horrified to learn entombing the spellcaster in soil has enabled the dark woman to rise again…and time is running out. Their romance blossoming in spite of the threat, Georjie and Lachlan travel to Dundee for clues to the fiend’s power. Learning that the ashes of three Wise will increase Daracha's power, and the ultimate goal is the destruction of the veil between worlds, Georjie realizes she's in way over her head.

Prometheus is missing… Yet the insurrection cannot stop. Can it survive without him? Finally, Alistair’s insurrection returns to our solar system, intent on destroying the Commonwealth. There’s only one problem: after his battle with Hector, Alistair disappeared. Now, Thoreaux faces an impossible decision with ramifications stretching out centuries. Should he invade Neptune without their incredible leader? If he does, will anyone live? If Alistair’s still alive, will he show up in time to save his insurrection, or will it be too late?

As soon as Gail and Jon Durbin bring home their adopted baby Maya, she becomes the glue that mends their fractured marriage. But the Durbin’s social worker, Paige, can’t find the teenage birth mother to sign the consent forms. By law, Carli has seventy-two hours to change her mind. Without her signature, the adoption will unravel.

Hunted by an ungrateful Persian royal family, the rogue agents Samuel and Mehrnaz are on the run to escape the empire they formerly served. Their destination (if they live to see it): the distant fabled land of India. There, on the far side of the Indus, the agents find ancient perils have returned in the weapons-blasted desert left behind by the earth-shattering Mahabharata War. Nightmarish creatures that have grown giant and twisted hunt down their human prey, while other animals have metamorphosized into something stranger still.

Life is a paradise for the privileged on Odin Prime. Dr. Shea Tristan, a loyal Statesman and Chancellor's niece, learns firsthand how broken the state is when she falls into the hands of Shadow - the station's most dangerous criminal organization. A disgraced Valkyrie named Victoria Hammond and an emerging threat among the station's most vulnerable force Shea to confront her mother's shameful past. Shea will question everything she knows about herself, her notorious family, and the state that once protected her.

A collection of short stories gathered from the far reaches of the Space Team Universe.

Amanda Saddler has lived a long and happy life. She's not ready to die or anything melodramatic, but she's long since given up on finding her fairytale ending. But when her adoptive granddaughter Emery picks up a box that was delivered to her doorstep, some new stories from the past come to light. Amanda Saddler may have spent her life pining for her neighbor, Jed Brooks, but that's not the only man she ever knew.

What could be more serious than her supernatural power coming between her and the man she loves? A power struggle between Arcturus Academy and Firethorne Collegiate. The stakes? The entire Chaplin estate and all of its assets. Does Saxony have what it takes to save the future of her school while her relationship is in turmoil? Listen to Fire Games and watch the sparks fly!

School’s out for summer, and all Saxony wants is a few weeks at home to recuperate from the roller-coaster ride of her first year at Arcturus Academy. Apparently, that is too much to ask, as a promise she made to protect the innocent comes back to haunt her. Venetian crime boss Enzo Barberini has called in his chit. Saxony finds herself on a chase through (and beneath) the gritty ancient streets of Naples, hunting for not one but two men she hoped never to meet again. Her only back-up? A couple of fellow students.

The world thinks I only write songs about my ex-boyfriends. They study each lyric to point a finger at which man broke my heart—even if I’ve never met him. Only the man I refuse to write about is the one who is so tangled in my mind that I know I can never be with him.

Alistair knows the risks, but he must take the Ice Queen’s military and the gigante to Planet Phoenix. In order to defeat the Ascendant, Alexander de Finita, and put this nightmare behind him, it’ll take every asset he can bring together. There’s just one problem.